Arkansas plummets in NET after last week's blowouts

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The beatings Arkansas took on the court last week are reflected in the latest NET rankings.

After being outscored by a combined 47 points in losses at LSU and Alabama, the Razorbacks are No. 35 in the NET. That is down 15 spots over the last seven days.

The metric, which is in its third year of existence after replacing the RPI as the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s primary tool, has four teams in the top 25 and Arkansas has already played all four.

The Razorbacks lost to No. 4 Tennessee, No. 18 Alabama and No. 21 LSU on the road and No. 24 Missouri at home. Those have been their only Quadrant 1 games so far this season.

However, the road win at Auburn is once again on the verge of moving up a level. With Sharife Cooper finally eligible, the Tigers won both of their games last week and have moved up 12 spots to No. 78. If they crack the top 75, the Q2 win turns into a Q1 win for Arkansas.

As the NET rankings stand today, the Razorbacks will have only two Q1 opportunities in their next 10 games - at No. 38 Oklahoma State on Jan. 30 and at No. 24 Missouri on Feb. 13 - before ending the season with three such games - vs. No. 18 Alabama, vs. No. 21 LSU and at No. 69 South Carolina.

It is worth noting, though, that these rankings are fluid. They are updated daily and which quadrant games ultimately end up in is based on the final NET rankings - not the ranking of the opponent at the time of the game.

Across the SEC, Auburn had the biggest jump, but was followed closely by Alabama, which moved up 11 spots to No. 18 after beating Kentucky and Arkansas last week.

The Razorbacks falling 15 spots was only the second-worst drop of the week, as Ole Miss fell 17 spots to No. 82 thanks to losses to Florida and Georgia.

Among Arkansas’ non-conference opponents, Abilene Christian had the most notable movement. It climbed eight spots to No. 74, making it a Q2 win for the Razorbacks. On the flip side, Oral Roberts dropped five spots to No. 163, changing from a Q3 into a Q4 win.

North Texas (up 45 spots to No. 98) and Southern (up 62 spots to No. 216) made huge strides in the NET, but are still 23 and 56 places, respectively, away from moving up a quadrant.

You can find a complete rundown of the SEC and Arkansas’ non-conference opponents below, with their movement from last week in parentheses…

~Quadrant 1: Home vs. 1-30, Neutral vs. 1-50, Away vs. 1-75

~Quadrant 2: Home vs. 31-75, Neutral vs. 51-100, Away vs. 76-135

~Quadrant 3: Home vs. 76-160, Neutral vs. 101-200, Away vs. 136-240

~Quadrant 4: Home vs. 161-plus, Neutral vs. 201-plus, Away vs. 241-plus

4. Tennessee (-1)

18. Alabama (+11)

21. LSU (+1)

24 Missouri (+1)

35. Arkansas (-15)

47. Florida (+8)

69. South Carolina (+6)

78. Auburn (+12)

82. Ole Miss (-17)

83. Mississippi State (-2)

97. Kentucky (-9)

100. Georgia (-14)

121. Texas A&M (+1)

169. Vanderbilt (+5)

38. Oklahoma State (-2) — HAVEN’T PLAYED YET

74. Abilene Christian (+9)

98. North Texas (+45)

163. Oral Roberts (-5)

216. Southern (+62)

226. UT-Arlington (-20)

227. Lipscomb (-7)

284. Central Arkansas (-38)

347. Mississippi Valley State (-2) — OUT OF 347 TEAMS